Exit only lanes

[traxx]

On my drive to and from work, I drive the freeway and come in contact with a few exit only lanes. You know, you're driving along in what seems to be a normal lane of traffic only for it to eventually become an exit only lane down the road or a lane that veers off onto another thoroughfare. If you drive it every day, it's an annoyance. But inevitably, there are people who don't drive it every day and are surprised that they are now in an exit only lane and that they need to get over which causes traffic slow downs and tie ups as they nervously try to navigate a small opening in the lane next to them so they can stay on the freeway. It's especially unnerving for out town and/or out of state travelers.

I know that you have to have these lanes sometimes, but I think our metro has more than our share. OKC seems to really like putting these lanes in. I don't recall see that many exit only lanes in other states and cities I've driven in. Is it an Oklahoma thing? It's just aggravating to merge onto the freeway and then you have to start planning you move to the next lane because you know that in a few miles you lane becomes an exit only. You're driving at a decent speed and there's no one in front of you and you have no good reason to have to change lanes other than you lane is going to end. And then on down you have to get over again because the lane that you just got in becomes an exit lane as well. And then you have the people not expecting the lane to end panicking to get over at the last minute.

There has to be a better way of designing our freeways. A simpler way that makes sense.

[jerrywall]

35E in the Dallas metro seems to have a lot as well. I agree they're annoying, especially if you're not familiar with the roads. Sometimes it seems like they put them in to help plan for future capacity and in anticipation of future construction, but some here don't make sense. Broadway Extension southbound has a couple of those.

[Plutonic Panda]

35E in the Dallas metro seems to have a lot as well. I agree they're annoying, especially if you're not familiar with the roads. Sometimes it seems like they put them in to help plan for future capacity and in anticipation of future construction, but some here don't make sense. Broadway Extension southbound has a couple of those.

That's all being fixed.

But the ones on Broadway Ext. are there for the future widening of the freeway through the interchange which is starting soon.

[jerrywall]

That doesn't explain the far right one that turns into exit only at Britton, then restarts again, then exit only again. The left lane makes sense though.

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah I've only really seen that in Oklahoma and Texas where that happens. I think there are one or two places here in L.A. where you will see that but I can't remember exactly where off of the top of my head.

[Plutonic Panda]

The worst offender I've seen is outside of Albuquerque where I-40WB literally shifts two lanes over. Crazy.

Speaking of I-40 WB, I noticed something when driving back out to LA recently that I haven't noticed before. Texas has completely at grade intersection on I-40. I don't care how low the traffic counts are there, that is not an interstate or at least what the standards would have you believe. Unbelievable. As much as I like TxDOT for some of their innovative highway designs for the Dallas area, I will never complain about ODOT doing something as dumb as this.

[Plutonic Panda]

BTW, while I usually do well over the posted speed limit out there and I notice others do as well, it isn't even safe to have those intersections going 75MPH. I honestly think Texas should loose the I-40 interstate shield until they remove or fix that.

[gopokes88]

The worst offender I've seen is outside of Albuquerque where I-40WB literally shifts two lanes over. Crazy.

Speaking of I-40 WB, I noticed something when driving back out to LA recently that I haven't noticed before. Texas has completely at grade intersection on I-40. I don't care how low the traffic counts are there, that is not an interstate or at least what the standards would have you believe. Unbelievable. As much as I like TxDOT for some of their innovative highway designs for the Dallas area, I will never complain about ODOT doing something as dumb as this.

Where are you talking about? I driven the I-40 okc-abq stretch 40 times probably

[stick47]

I want to know why when going southbound on Meridian you come up to the West bound Airport Rd on ramp and it says EXIT as you're entering onto Airport Rd? That makes no sense to me.

[Plutonic Panda]

Where are you talking about? I driven the I-40 okc-abq stretch 40 times probably

This







There are no reason to have those there. It is an at grade intersection and doesn't conform to interstate standards which is what I-40 is supposed to be.

[traxx]

Where is this in Texas? I'm curious to know.

[Plutonic Panda]

Along I-40 west of Amarillo.

Here is one I found pretty quickly on street view. I don't know how many of them there are that are paved vs. the ones that are not, I could have missed some as I was going through at night when I actually pulled over my car on the shoulder to verify I saw what I thought I saw, and realized Texas actually has at grade intersections on a supposed interstate. I am not sure if they only do this on this section of I-40 or not, but it is a bad practice none the less because it sets a bad precedent, imo.

I'm going to eventually send a letter via email to the FHWA and TxDOT about this and see what their take on this is and I'm interested in hearing TxDOT's defense of building these. I have never seen this anywhere but West Texas on I-40.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1918...7i13312!8i6656

[gopokes88]

Eh, having driven that 40 times, I've never once had a problem with it. That must have been this past spring and summer, that's reallllly green.

[jerrywall]

BTW, while I usually do well over the posted speed limit out there and I notice others do as well

Do they not still have the speed cameras on I-40 through the Texas panhandle? I remember getting an unpleasant surprise after coming home from a trip to Albuquerque (although that was over 10 years ago).

[Plutonic Panda]

Eh, having driven that 40 times, I've never once had a problem with it. That must have been this past spring and summer, that's reallllly green.

I have not had any problems either. That doesn't mean no one else will. I've driven it about 7 times now over the past two years and the last time I drove it was the first I noticed it. But that doesn't mean they should be there.

I can't think of one argument for them. This section of I-40 isn't the most un used. If you take I-8 from Tucson to San Diego, you can go for miles and miles without seeing a single car on a four lane divided interstate but there are no at grade intersections.

It should be up to the county to provide for dirt roads that link to an arterial with enough traffic that warrants a bridge every 5-10 miles or so with I-40 access ramps. We have interstate standards for a reason. If there is not enough traffic to warrant a bridge or underpass than there is no reason to have interstate access for a small dirt road. If there is, then build a bridge or underpass with access ramps.

[Plutonic Panda]

Do they not still have the speed cameras on I-40 through the Texas panhandle? I remember getting an unpleasant surprise after coming home from a trip to Albuquerque (although that was over 10 years ago).

I don't think so. I always know to slow down though when going into to New Mexico because there are usually state troopers sometimes literally sitting at the state line with laser or radar guns.

I know Houston has several speed cameras. I am not for sure, but I have heard from several people that they are not technically constitutional or really enforceable in some way and there are ways to get them thrown out with almost a 100% success rate. Though the tickets are usually relatively cheap under $100 and don't go on your record, so it's mostly for revenue because most people will just pay it.

I'd much rather have the speed cameras then the horrid parking ticket practices here in L.A. I have had so many parking tickets it's unreal. All because I forgot to move my car so the street cleaning vehicle can move through and it does nothing to clean the street either. I really think L.A. does that just as a revenue stream.

[rezman]

Along I-40 west of Amarillo.

Here is one I found pretty quickly on street view. I don't know how many of them there are that are paved vs. the ones that are not, I could have missed some as I was going through at night when I actually pulled over my car on the shoulder to verify I saw what I thought I saw, and realized Texas actually has at grade intersections on a supposed interstate. I am not sure if they only do this on this section of I-40 or not, but it is a bad practice none the less because it sets a bad precedent, imo.

I'm going to eventually send a letter via email to the FHWA and TxDOT about this and see what their take on this is and I'm interested in hearing TxDOT's defense of building these. I have never seen this anywhere but West Texas on I-40.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1918...7i13312!8i6656

It is possible that it may have to do with agriculture. There are many FM roads that tie into the frontage roads along I-40, but also large distances with nowhere to cross from one side to the other, which would be especially handy during wheat harvest. It looks like there may be gates, and/or cattle guards in the backgrounds of both photos.

[ljbab728]

I'd much rather have the speed cameras then the horrid parking ticket practices here in L.A. I have had so many parking tickets it's unreal. All because I forgot to move my car so the street cleaning vehicle can move through and it does nothing to clean the street either. I really think L.A. does that just as a revenue stream.

Sounds like you're just a slow learner, plupan.

[Buffalo Bill]

On my drive to and from work, I drive the freeway and come in contact with a few exit only lanes. You know, you're driving along in what seems to be a normal lane of traffic only for it to eventually become an exit only lane down the road or a lane that veers off onto another thoroughfare. If you drive it every day, it's an annoyance. But inevitably, there are people who don't drive it every day and are surprised that they are now in an exit only lane and that they need to get over which causes traffic slow downs and tie ups as they nervously try to navigate a small opening in the lane next to them so they can stay on the freeway. It's especially unnerving for out town and/or out of state travelers.

I know that you have to have these lanes sometimes, but I think our metro has more than our share. OKC seems to really like putting these lanes in. I don't recall see that many exit only lanes in other states and cities I've driven in. Is it an Oklahoma thing? It's just aggravating to merge onto the freeway and then you have to start planning you move to the next lane because you know that in a few miles you lane becomes an exit only. You're driving at a decent speed and there's no one in front of you and you have no good reason to have to change lanes other than you lane is going to end. And then on down you have to get over again because the lane that you just got in becomes an exit lane as well. And then you have the people not expecting the lane to end panicking to get over at the last minute.

There has to be a better way of designing our freeways. A simpler way that makes sense.

Are you talking about an auxiliary lane like there is between 36th and 23rd on southbound I 235? If so here's some information:

http://mobility.tamu.edu/mip/strateg...Lanes-4-Pg.pdf

[mugofbeer]

FYI, there are exit only lanes all over the Denver metro

[Snowman]

On my drive to and from work, I drive the freeway and come in contact with a few exit only lanes. You know, you're driving along in what seems to be a normal lane of traffic only for it to eventually become an exit only lane down the road or a lane that veers off onto another thoroughfare. If you drive it every day, it's an annoyance. But inevitably, there are people who don't drive it every day and are surprised that they are now in an exit only lane and that they need to get over which causes traffic slow downs and tie ups as they nervously try to navigate a small opening in the lane next to them so they can stay on the freeway. It's especially unnerving for out town and/or out of state travelers.

I know that you have to have these lanes sometimes, but I think our metro has more than our share. OKC seems to really like putting these lanes in. I don't recall see that many exit only lanes in other states and cities I've driven in. Is it an Oklahoma thing? It's just aggravating to merge onto the freeway and then you have to start planning you move to the next lane because you know that in a few miles you lane becomes an exit only. You're driving at a decent speed and there's no one in front of you and you have no good reason to have to change lanes other than you lane is going to end. And then on down you have to get over again because the lane that you just got in becomes an exit lane as well. And then you have the people not expecting the lane to end panicking to get over at the last minute.

There has to be a better way of designing our freeways. A simpler way that makes sense.

A lot of the exit only lanes around here seem to come from the end of where a road widening project was going to stop (with the exception of the ones that the entry to exit ramps have their acceleration/deceleration lane connected), since this tends to be near bigger destinations they should not be that much of an issue in most of the cases, the alternative is the lane just ending with a relatively short merge to the right which is arguably worse for the people not familiar with the area and surprised it is happening. The only spot like this I consider an annoyance is the pair on i235 southbound near downtown, which is more about that road handles enough traffic it never should have dropped to two through lanes.

[traxx]

Are you talking about an auxiliary lane like there is between 36th and 23rd on southbound I 235? If so here's some information:

http://mobility.tamu.edu/mip/strateg...Lanes-4-Pg.pdf

No, that's not really what I'm talking about.

Let me give y'all an example. You're on I-35 northbound and you're trying to get to Danforth in Edmond. You're in the far right lane only to find out it becomes an exit only lane at 23rd so you move over a lane. You think, "Oh, I can relax now. I'm safe." Then you get to Wilshire and realize you're still in an exit only lane so you move over a lane again. You get to Kilpatrick turnpike. "Oh, there's those yellow signs above my lane again. Am I in another exit only lane?" Only it's a trick and you're not in an exit lane, you're okay. Then you get to 2nd street to realize you're in yet another exit only lane.

That's a lot of exit lanes in only about 15 miles.

[Uptowner]

The whole section is essentially two lanes. The lane you're referring gets created at 4th and is an exit lane the whole time. Same for wilshire. If you don't hug the right without looking at the signage you're in good shape. I guess the section could be converted to 3 lanes, but the increase in traffic comes from the edmond hoard annexing toward Arcadia.

The only place that pops into my mind immediately is the 6th street exit. Which is awful, and I'm convinced there's a populous of A-holes that purposely drive to the end of it, passing traffic, then slam their brakes and wait for some sucker to let them merge. These are the same A-holes who fly past stopped cars doing 70 when I-235N goes from 3 lanes to 2 for a mere mile from 36th to 63rd.

Then there's the nightmare that is the 235-35-40 crossroads. 235 south gets a lane created by 5th st, then Lincoln, so it goes from 3 lanes, to 2 lanes, to 4, BACK to 2, in less than a quarter mile. And when the cluster that is becoming of the boulevard, it will bloat to 5 to 2. So if you want to get into the boulevard lane from 235South you'll have to dive into the traffic trying to traverse 4 lanes to get to 40E and go 3 lanes over in only a couple hundred yards...disgraceful.

[Scott5114]

I have not had any problems either. That doesn't mean no one else will. I've driven it about 7 times now over the past two years and the last time I drove it was the first I noticed it. But that doesn't mean they should be there.

I can't think of one argument for them. This section of I-40 isn't the most un used. If you take I-8 from Tucson to San Diego, you can go for miles and miles without seeing a single car on a four lane divided interstate but there are no at grade intersections.

It should be up to the county to provide for dirt roads that link to an arterial with enough traffic that warrants a bridge every 5-10 miles or so with I-40 access ramps. We have interstate standards for a reason. If there is not enough traffic to warrant a bridge or underpass than there is no reason to have interstate access for a small dirt road. If there is, then build a bridge or underpass with access ramps.

The reason for this is because property owners have access rights. You have to be able to access your property from the public road system. If your access is cut off then the agency has to compensate you for the loss of access. Most of these properties' only access point was to US-66. When US-66 was upgraded to I-40, the at-grade intersections remained because it was seen as a waste of public funds to build an entire interchange for a ranch gate that may not get used more than once a week, or even to buy the access rights. As far as I know none of these intersections can be used to access public roads, only private property.

In most of the rest of Texas this problem is solved with frontage roads. In the Panhandle it's not even financially worth it to do that.

Like I mentioned before, most of these gates are used maybe once a week, if that. The property owners are familiar enough with the situation that they're not likely to have an accident.

[traxx]

The whole section is essentially two lanes.

Essentially nope. Once you go past the I-44 interchange it's 3 lanes then goes back to 2 after 2nd street.

The lane you're referring gets created at 4th and is an exit lane the whole time. Same for wilshire.

That's one way to look at it. But when people can travel in that lane for more than just a mile, they assume it's an actual lane of traffic and not just an exit lane.

If you don't hug the right without looking at the signage you're in good shape.

People who aren't familiar with an area tend to drive in the right lane so that they can drive slower and figure out where they're going. I don't know if you realize it but, there's a lot of out of state traffic that uses that section of road. I've seen a lot more than just a few truckers have a difficult time getting over as they see that their lane is exiting. Those truckers have to make that move at 23rd, Wilshire, and 2nd Street. Not to mention just your regular cars having that same issue.